This archive report was first published on 3 July 2019.
On July 3, 2019, the family of independence hero Achieng' Oneko defended former Principal Secretary Lillian Omollo against claims that her Siaya farm was fake.
Police attached to the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) had claimed that they found no farming activity on the Bondo land, which was under shrubs, during their investigations of alleged theft of public funds from the National Youth Service (NYS).
However, Nam Oneko, a son of the independence hero, dismissed the ARA's claims in a petition, saying their sister-in-law, Ms Omollo, operated a multi-million shilling horticulture enterprise that the agency preferred not to establish.
He maintained that the former PS owned greenhouses, where she farmed tomatoes, cucumbers, and watermelons among other crops.
Mr. Oneko challenged the ARA investigator to provide video or photographic evidence of shrubs on the farm, stating that he had pointed out an adjacent field where they had just harvested over 48,000 kilogrammes of watermelons in April 2019.
Ms. Omollo's 10 accounts with Sh33.1 million were frozen last October after investigators told the court that the ex-PS made cash deposits during the months when the theft of funds was reported at the NYS.
Mr. Oneko challenged the court to visit the Bondo farm, as Ms. Omollo petitioned the judges to view the horticulture business before issuing any fresh directions.
